Original Quality
by Mai24
Summary: on hiatus
1. Ignorance Was Bliss

ORIGINAL QUALITY  
Chapter One- Ignorance Was Bliss  


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters in it, sadly to say. But if I did then I'd be rich and fat sitting on a veranda in Italy eating chocolates and pinching cute waiters butts. sigh But I do own the idea I've written down with these characters I do not own, and any people I mention that have never previously made an appearance in the first 5 HP books. Thank you, and please don't sue. I'm poor.  
  
The sudden laughter in the rooms below startled the quiet male teenager, locked inside his room on the second story meditating. He quickly calmed and returned to his thoughts. His relatives were having company that night. He'd been drilled into remembering that he wasn't to leave his room or make sounds under any circumstances- which included drowning, fire, and bathroom runs. Not that he'd planned on it anyway. He wanted nothing to do with any acquaintances of his contemptuous relatives.  
  
The leanly built teen's black and untamable hair looked oddly natural in its jaw line length, curling slightly at the ends in defiance. The haunted green jewels many primitively described as eyes looked out on the world trapped behind thick black circular glasses frames, underlined with dark purple crescents from lack of sleep. The small but unique lightning shaped scar on his forehead was partially revealed as he distractedly flicked the hair out of his eyes. It seemed to have a mind of its very own. The exhausted and thin looking young man, though obviously having grown up quite a bit within the last month and a half away from school could readily be identified as only one person- Harry James Potter.  
  
He returned to his meditative state- the only form of rest he'd had since he'd returned 'home'. And thanks to this, he'd only had the occasional nightmare or vision. Taking every word Professor Snape had told him during his previous Occlumency 'lessons' to heart, he'd spent day upon day working on his weak mental shields. He'd stumbled upon the most remarkable way to do it, building a figurative brick wall, one brick at a time. Somehow it had gotten easier with time. In the beginning it had been so hard, it felt as if he'd physically had to lift the bricks himself. Each weighed a staggering amount. In those first few days he'd only accomplished 'laying' four mental bricks in a line to start his wall. He'd wanted to give up after that, so frustrated over the painstaking process. He'd finally fallen asleep that night, both mentally and physically exhausted. When his scar warned him of an oncoming vision he'd almost not cared. It was like he was watching it from a distance, like a person had been carrying a grey mist, approaching his miniscule four brick wall.  
  
Then something amazing had happened. The thing carrying the vision the vision approached the wall, he on the other side watching impassively, gearing up for the rough hours ahead. Then the person tripped, falling to the ground and the misty vision fell to the ground and disappeared. Harry had woken up immediately in complete shock. What had just happened? His scar flared as he felt a Crucatious curse was being used, but the small fire in his temple was nothing compared to anything previous, but it still remained. His dinky mental wall... had worked. Immediately he'd started again, forgetting to return to sleep. This time instead of cursing everything and anything as he moved he began to chant.  
  
It had started out small, little tunes he'd picked up from overhearing Dudley's radio blasting all day. After a few days it became his own music. He poured his heart into it, singing about everything he knew- which led to him chanting even school things. Hours upon hours were devoted to light and emotional charm spells flowing together and some adventures he'd had. Suddenly the impossibly heavy brick he'd been holding changed. Harry had stared at it, falling heavily to the ground and leaving a deep imprint in the soil. Had the color changed? It now seemed to flow between a regular brick and something... else. It was something more than just a brick in a mental wall now. He glanced up at his wall- the bricks now beginning to starting to define what it was clearly, stretching form one end of the meadow to the other. Suddenly he looked around him. Indeed, he was in a meadow, the bricks he'd been using were coming from a pile of rubble that seemed to have once been a house behind him. Why had he never noticed this before? But then a thought struck him- was his mind the meadow? Determination now on his face he vowed to himself to make the wall surround the entire plot, and nothing was going to stop him. He almost dropped the twice as heavy brick again when he finally saw the wall he'd been building- every brick had changed to match the magical one in his hands. He'd smiled for the first time he'd been back for the summer. Without a wand he'd done something magical, even if it was in his own mind. Suddenly he seemed less weary and continued his chanting, almost cheerfully laying the impossibly heavy bricks. It was hours later while he was resting did he notice with no small amount of surprise a partially burned nameplate on one of the ruined bricks. It gleamed in shimmering gold letters, scourging into his mind, "Potter". He was at his old house- reusing the ruins to build a wall around his mind. Smiling again he returned to work.  
  
When Harry hadn't been building his mental wall he'd had his nose buried in books. Text books mostly to be exact. Hermione would have been proud- he'd memorized every previous year's book and had sent Hedwig out to Flourish and Blotts to get every book he could think of. Advanced and regular level books in Legimancy, Occlumency, DADA, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, along with mental, wandless, silent magic's and even magical theory. He'd received a few days later owl after owl carrying books- as well as a letter from the store. They'd thanked him for his quite magnanimous purchases and had sent him the bill- which they'd already charged to his vault in the Gringotts Wizarding Bank. He smiled at that thought; the amount would barely even put a dent into the money pile up inside that guarded room of magical steel.  
  
Harry had tucked in with a vigor and excitement that would have left Hermione in his dust. Everything seemed so much easier to understand then it ever had before. It suddenly made sense why Hermione would get all her charms right on practically the first try every time. You had to understand what you were doing, not just the magical part; which he'd always had down to a science, but the mental reasoning behind it all as well. He sent away all the owls after they'd rested with a small letter of thanks to the owners.  
  
Whenever Harry was delivered food he barely tasted it, reading and memorizing every word like it alone would sate his starvation. He'd even read 'Hogwarts- A History". His wall seemed to be half completed, circling around the property in a surprising 4 foot tall wall. But he understood he'd need more. His chants became more confident, exuberant and highly intricate. The magic in the bricks changed again, quadrupling the original weight (which was only doubling the secondary weight). But he could only smile and continue- he was getting stronger.  
  
The one day a week shower Harry had gotten today had met him with a surprise. Taking the shower without even glancing at himself, since he'd believed he knew what he'd find when he looked. Then he looked at his hand, and it was exactly like his mental one. He's thought all those aches and pains had been from all the mental strain... not actual physical. His hands were richly tanned and calloused in his mind from all the hard work, and the hand before his eyes had looked exactly like that, not the pale and soft delicate hands they used to be. His eyes traveled up his arms slowly, and then had to stare at them too. Muscles, so clearly defined and hard were lying just below the deep gold of his skin. He looked at his wash board stomach, the legs he used to keep his back properly held under the intense strain of the mental bricks- they were all rock hard and almost perfectly defined. He'd jumped out of the shower and stared at himself in the mirror.  
  
His skinny bean-pole body that was pale as paper and could barely hold himself up in a push up position had been almost completely transformed. This teenager could not have possibly been him! No baby fat was apparent anywhere, every inch tanned to the rich gold he'd seen on his shoulders, broadened in a maturity he hadn't even noticed was happening to him, and the lengthening of limbs and other... interesting parts. Hopping back into the shower he'd taken a more interested view in hygiene, paying more attention to himself. As he made his way back to his room he looked forward to more research, even finding an explanation for this new discovery. 'God!' he rolled his eyes, 'I hope I don't turn into Hermione, Ron can only take so much.' And he startled himself by laughing.  
  
The day before his birthday his aunt finally came up to see him. She was disappointed she couldn't yell at him about a messy room- it was spotless. Books neatly on the shelves, clothes either put away in his trunk or hanging in the closet, and the bed was made. To her confusion it even looked dusty and untouched. Harry turned and looked at her from his desk where he'd been reading when he heard the multiple barricades on his door being unlocked. She scowled at him, not caring about the tidy piles of parchment arranged at his desk. His previously messy scrawl had transformed into neatly elegant and small script, flooding the papers in vivid detail. They took up every available white section of paper in notes, intricate diagrams or models. What she did notice however was how miserable he looked- at least at first glance. Those dark circles meant no sleeping, and she smirked.  
  
"You're doing the yard. And no funny stuff or you'll be punished like never before!" and then the day proceeded. He repainted the fence, weeded and replanted the garden under his aunts' glare, washed the windows, cleaned the gutters, mowed the lawn, turned over the compost pile and took out the garbage in record time. His aunt scowled at his lack of exhaustion as Harry was allowed to sit in the kitchen with a sandwich as she tended to her rose beds. When he was finally allowed to leave it was well past dark and he returned to his previous place in the chair. The yard work had been exhausting, though it hadn't appeared so, and he decided it wouldn't be wise to work on his wall tonight and instead returned to his studying.  
  
Later that night he ignored the insistent tapping on his window until he completed a complicated Potions compound and formula, then looked up at his window to see a flock of owls staring directly back at him. Quickly he opened his window and let all the owls in, laying out water and treats for them as he took their burdens. He'd forgotten today was his birthday! Mrs. Weasly, Ron, Fred, George, Hagrid, Neville, Seamus, Dean, Hermione, Hagrid, Remus, Tonks, his Hogwarts letter, and an oddly unmarked package were sprawled out upon his bed. Harry munched on one of Mrs. Weasly's mince pies and read Ron and Hermione's cards, just as uneventful and vague as their letters. Ron had sent him a play snitch, much like the one he'd seen his father playing with in Snape's pensieve. Deciding not to think much on that, he placed it on his desk, where its golden wings whirred quietly, and returned to open Hermione's gift. It was a book- he laughed, one he'd already received from Flourish and Blotts. He scribbled down a note to Hermione with a suggestion for another book and tied both the book and the note back onto the owl, which hooted and left through the window once he was finished. He opened the box from Fred and George without hesitation. They had a silent agreement that since he was their silent partner that he would never be on the receiving end of their pranks, at least not with their knowledge. On the top was a letter;  
  
'Dear Harry,  
  
Wishing you a happy birthday! We decided there were only a few things we could give to our silent partner, so here it is! At the bottom of our gift box is a certificate to Olivanders. You can use it to buy a dueling wand- we will be sent the bill. You're almost a fully grown wizard and we thought it would be appropriate. Then there is a small bag of Floo powder so you can talk to us at any time! Then 100% Dragon Hide boots- Hungarian Horntail you know- also thought that ironic, eh? And lastly there is our wonderful new product; Polly Pudding! We made it just for you mate, too bad though, it's illegal to market. But it's special, it's just like the polyjuice potion except it lasts two hours and not one. Aren't any side effects to date so just drop in a hair and eat up! Oh, and Ron says don't go around looking like him, he say's it'd be spooky.  
  
Your partners,  
  
Fred and George  
  
Presidents of WWW'  
  
Harry quirked an eyebrow at the unmarked tupperware dish, a carved triple W on the top. 'Useful' he thought and put it away in his trunk. He tossed Hargrids black cookies in the trash, and read the funny wizarding birthday card form the half giant. He was pleasantly surprised at Tonk's gift, a matching dragon leather knee length dueling coat for the twins' boots. Neville sent him a nice normal black leather schedule book, with a card saying he hoped it would help him f he continued with the DA meetings. Dean's refill broom cleaning kit was much appreciated and a set of black dueling robes- more like a pair of black trousers and lack coat which looked shockingly similar to the ones Snape had worn on the only day of the dueling club in 2nd year- as obvious overkill from last years mishap. He put everything away with a grin, and turned to the last two gifts. Remus had also sent him a letter, but he passed it up for a moment to look at his gift. It was a book, or what appeared to be one, as its pages were all blank. It must have been a large diary then, and pleased he put it away and opened up the letter.  
  
'Dear Harry,  
  
My wishes to you having a happy birthday! This year is probably going to be very hectic for you and you may not have time or organize all of your thoughts when you think of them. As you have probably guessed, this is a diary. Your thoughts will write themselves onto its infinite pages when you open it after you've, sadly, placed a drop of your blood inside the cover. This allows only you to read and write in it, giving you probably the only privacy you'll really have at school and I hope it helps.  
  
Now, as for the unmarked package, it is a gift Sirius ordered for you last summer. He'd hoped he could give it to you in person when he was a free man. I have no idea what it is, but I really hope it helps you Harry, Sirius would want you to use it and be happy with it more than anything. I also hope that speaking of him doesn't cause you too much pain; I know it hurts me to even think about him right now. Harry, I know you probably are suffering but Sirius would want us to take our time and accept it so it wouldn't pain us, he's even said so. Please understand this, and try not to let it overwhelm you Harry, you are like a son to me. The Order and I are going to be picking you up within the next few days, please be somewhat ready for us. Thank you Harry, we know all this has been so hard on you...  
  
Yours,  
  
Moony'  
  
Harry's heart froze, and then seemed to collapse, breaking every bone in his chest along with it. Sirius! How could he have possibly put Sirius into the back of his mind, if only for a few minutes? He looked down at his hands, now holding the torn letter. He tossed it aside and snatched up the unmarked box and tore into it. Inside was a pensieve, intricately carved runes circling the dark blue and silver bowl. Inside were an instruction manual and another letter. He couldn't bring himself to look at the letter right now, and replaced the top back onto the box. Methodically he placed the box delicately inside of his trunk, not wanting the last gift he would ever receive from his god father to be broken.  
  
Over the next few miserable days Harry was plagued with nightmares that had been held off all summer by not sleeping as he slept, when he was too depressed to build his walls, which had been the only place he could have found peace. Building the wall had been the only place he could have found solace, but even as he chanted he was miserable, his mournful tunes relaying that. The magical bricks had become even heavier with the weight of magic in them but he did not notice. Brick piled upon brick his body sweating under the vigorous torture he was putting himself through. His mental haven was raining, hiding his tears as he chanted his voice smooth and becoming noticeably deeper as the hours rolled by. When he finally stopped he pulled out of his mind. He sighed and sat back away from his desk. A noise behind him startled him and he whirled around with his wand already beginning to spark with his eyes wide as he caught sight of Tonks, Moody, and Remus.  
  
"About time." Moody grumbles, standing up from his spot on Harry's bed, both of his eyes boring into him. Remus sighed in relief and Tonks gave him a small smile. "Whatever happened to constant vigilance Potter?" the retired auror gazed at him, a frown upon his scarred face.  
  
Harry ran a hand through his hair before he glanced at it. It was cut in places, nicked by his mental labors made physical, and smeared with some blood. He glanced up at the trio, wondering how long they'd been here. A glance at his clock showed it was noon. He's awoken from a fretful sleep around 3 am and had immediately started his work. Harry stood up and stretched with a loud yawn, scratching the side of his neck.  
  
"I was busy with other things." He muttered. Moody continues to stare, both eyes locked on him. He raised an eyebrow at the old man, who snorted.  
  
"Other things indeed. What was it you were doing, sitting in a puddle of magic?" the man asked in curiosity. Harry shrugged picking up his Hogwarts letters and robe. "Let's get this over with then, shall we?" and he headed for the door. Remus held up a hand, stopping his progress.  
  
"We're taking your things too. You'll be spending the next couple of weeks at Grimmauld place with us." The lupine ex-professor said his eyes tired but alert. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise then nodded distractedly. 'They are finally taking me away, eh?' he thought to himself. He began to gather all of his papers. He sensed movement behind him and a tingle in the air and spoke. "I'll do it by hand Tonks." not looking and not seeing all three of the surprised faces and Tonks putting her wand away. As he was packing, Moody looked over the books he'd been reading, nodding in approval at no one in particular, but Harry took it for the compliment he knew it was. Remus glanced at a few papers piled on his desk and stared. It was one of his transfiguration papers, regarding turning a black beetle into a green striped scarf. He picked it up, going over the detailed diagrams and colors. Harry had become quite the stickler for detail, passing the hours away at all times of the night and day alone in his room.  
  
"It appears you've been busy. This is excellent work Harry! McGonagall will be pleased you've already finished your homework. I thought you hadn't gotten the books yet?" the professor waved the paper slightly. Harry glanced up as he put sheets much like that one into his trunk. He gave a snort and at the look from Remus he shrugged.  
  
"That's not homework. I haven't gotten the books yet. It's amazing what over a thousand hours of no sleep can do for your understanding over what they dribble over in class." He said, his voice surprising himself with its steady tenor. He'd barely even registered the change in his chanting... Tonks gasped and Moody quirked an eyebrow and Remus paled.  
  
"How did you manage to pull that off Potter?" Moody didn't seem surprised. Harry shrugged and lifted his cut hands.  
  
"I meditate." He said, as if that explained everything. Moody's eyes wandered over the Occlumency books resting on the shelf.  
  
"I see. That's not very healthy, boy." The old mans voice grating on Harry's sensitive ears. He'd gotten used to near silence, and after coming out of meditation everything was super sensitive anyway. Harry walked over to his desk in smooth strides and continued to file away his papers.  
  
"And neither is having the weight of the world on 16 year olds shoulders, expecting him to die for them." He replied cryptically. Moody snorted.  
  
"Touch" the man replied.  
  
Harry finished with all the papers and loaded the books into the extremely orderly trunk. He'd cleaned it out yesterday, expecting he wouldn't want to waste time in finally leaving the house September 1st; a dirty trunk would have kept him from being quick about it. When he finally slammed the lid down Moody charmed it to fly and they all left his room. They were silent as they descended the stairs. Harry's eyes flew to the group of wizards sitting in his aunts' living room, glaring at the Dursley's who cringed when they saw more appear from above.  
  
"What took so long?" Kingsly asked, being one of the first to his feet at their arrival.  
  
"He had to pack." Remus said vaguely. Another snorted, but no one said anything. Vernon seemed to become enraged at the sight of his nephew, but smartly kept his mouth shut. Harry moved toward the door without a word to anyone, not noticing the flashy way his robes billowed and swayed as he walked. Tonks laughed at the move but didn't comment; all the other witches and wizards exited the house and piled into a bright orange muggle van. Harry's trunk was tied to the top and he entered the van, sitting behind the driver seat.  
  
It was a long ride to London and everyone in the van seemed to be talking. Harry tolerated it, laughing at the jokes told by Miss Angie Tuthburn, a new member of the Order who had wanted to see Harry's home. He'd surprised her by thanking her offhand compliments on the garden she'd seen in the back yard. She didn't mention anything about the house afterward, not knowing how to deal with The-Boy-Who-Lived doing gardening or any other House Elf or muggle work.  
  
Remus informed him Ron ad Hermione were already at the house, as before. Molly Weasly was going to have a fit when she saw the dark circles under his eyes. Harry also noticed that the ex DADA professor didn't' comment on how much sleep he hadn't had. In fact, Remus was the only person who mentioned anything to him directly. But then again now that he thought about it, not many people ever did. He felt his thoughts slipping away as they all started droning on about children and the Wealsy twins' mischief. He willingly entered the meditative state, but remained aware of the outside world as he carried and laid magical bricks. He was startled when he felt a sharp jab in his side and blinked up at Moody. "Not in the car, boy." The man said sharply and then went on ignoring everyone else, his magical eye whirling about in its socket.  
  
They finally reached the Leaky Cauldron and passed through unhindered to Diagon Alley. It was packed full of adult wizards and only a few random children ran about. Harry was suddenly brought into awareness that he was practically as tall as every man in the group, instead of being shorter than the women. 'Just how much did I grow this summer?!' he thought in amusement. His robes were uncomfortably tight around his shoulder and he'd had to leave them unbuttoned because they wouldn't close and the hem, instead of beating around his ankles waved in the breeze around his knees. He shook his head and chuckled. Remus shot him a questioning look and he motioned to his old height and then shot his hand up to the top of his head presently. Remus laughed outright and nodded in agreement, a smile on his lips. Harry could now directly look him in the eye instead of craning his neck up as he had only a month or so before. What could he say? Growth spurts were weird.  
  
The moved from store to store, many going their own way until it was finally just Tonks, Moody, Harry and Remus. He entered Olivanders, surprising the little group, and tried out at least a dozen dueling wands before one finally made anything remotely positive. He sighed in disappointment when Mr. Olivander clapped in glee and began to take it away from him. The man was already about to ring it up when Harry shook his head no. The man raised an eyebrow as Harry himself started to trail his fingers over the hundreds of boxes lining every possible inch of the store, eyes closed. Moody had left to go get something and Tonks had fallen asleep, leaving only Remus and Mr. Olivander to watch in curiosity. The owner's eyes twinkled in understanding after a moment and made a noise of approval. "It has been a very long time since someone had gotten this idea. Natural magic is such a powerful thing, wouldn't you agree Mr. Lupin?" the older wizard smiled. Remus was clueless, but nodded his head anyway.  
  
Harry had no idea as to what he was looking for, but he continued to look anyway. He felt the quiet hum of magic as his hands passed over every box, but nothing had caught his attention yet. He continued through the store and started to wander near the back. With his eyes closed he didn't see the boxes get dustier and dustier. Then suddenly it was like something had slapped him right in the face with an electric wire. His hand jerked the box away from its counterparts before he'd even opened his eyes. His fingers were buried in dust, leaving defined marks where he touched it. The box vibrated in his hands and he blew away all the dust before he opened it. Whipping his hand off on his robe he picked up the humming wand. The instant his fingers gripped it there was a burst of light from it, and it felt as if a thunderstorm had just blown in his face. Footsteps beat behind him and Mr. Olivander looked over his shoulder and whistled.  
  
"That's an 11 inch Womping Willow with a unique selection of dragon scales. Hungarian Horntail I believe. That wand has a mind of its own some think. Good choice Mr. Potter, very good choice." Then Ovilvander led him back to the front of the store. Before the man rang it up Harry picked up a black leather double wand holster, a grim burned magically silver onto the skin. A very expensive and detailed purchase, but he didn't change his mind, handing both the galleons and the certificate Fred and George had given him to the man. Instead of putting them in his bags, he strapped them on, adding both wands to the holster. Olivander watched as the two wands vibrated slightly and glowed a dim yellow then grew calm and nodded. "They approve of each other. Happy casting Mr. Potter." And they left after waking Tonks.  
  
To make it up to her Harry let the woman run around in the clothing shops, picking up robes, muggle clothes, and other items for him to wear and try on. She'd squealed in utter delight at her –he had to admit- tasteful choices. She'd picked out the exact size for him in every account, and he'd grudgingly bought it all. Then his school robes were cast away and the seamstress had made him more. To the apothecary, where he overstocked in every item, much to the owners delight, the off to the book store. It seemed like the instant he was through the door one of the owners was at his side. The man smiled and gave him a thick catalog, waving off Remus's questions. He led Harry personally to all of the books he'd need for 6th year and then when Harry voiced his demand for more he was practically whirled around to every shelf. After a few minutes he finally asked for privacy and the man grudgingly left him alone. Over the DADA shelf he spent most of the time, plucking a few books from the shelf and adding them to his pile. Then to charms, where he immediately took four from their home and picked a few more down the line as he thought about what the DA would be going over. He searched the entire store, placing a few animagus books and mind boggling transfiguration books amongst the heavy pile. When his stack was seen by the sales woman she smiled.  
  
"Doing a bit of reading, are we?" the attractive witch asked, ringing up his total. She placed them all into a charmed shrinking and feather weight bag without a second look at the titles and gave him the receipt. Tonks almost gagged at the amount he'd spent on book, of all things. A few stops later and everyone was ready to leave. Harry pulled all of his things into a few bags and piled them into his lap in the van. He pulled out his new potions text to busy himself as they spent the next few hours making their way to the Orders headquarters.  
  
All of Harry's things were quietly brought into Grimmauld place and up the stairs. Harry made no comment on their silence; he'd seen Mrs. Black's portrait remained behind the old drapes in the living room. They piled everything into a guest room –empty besides him. No one mentioned the change in rooms to him, so he didn't ask. He was then led to see the room he'd previously shared with Ron the summer before, and Remus opened the door.  
  
Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins were all in the room, laughing hysterically over something and immediately stopped when the door opened. Every eye went wide when they saw him standing beside Remus. Hermione was the first to react, bolting off the bed and launching herself at him and immediately launching into a monolog. Ron laughed and waved him in and Remus smiled and shut the door after Harry had walked inside. Harry ignored Hermione's chattering and patted her back as she continued. He waved to the twins who'd gone back to snickering but they waved back enthusiastically then continued to scheme amongst themselves. Ginny waved at him and blushed shyly from Ron's bed. 'Not again...' he inwardly groaned. He'd thought she'd gotten over that silly crush of hers years ago, but apparently not.  
  
Ron waved him to the bed beside his and grinned at him. "Hey mate! Where've you been all day?" Harry rolled his eyes and muttered something about shopping. Hermione then turned to him curiously.  
  
"Why would you already have the book I sent you? You must admit you never seemed like the type to read that sort of book without prompting." Hermione inquired. He had to give her credit- after his outbursts last year she was being cautious since he'd just gotten away from the Dursleys, and they hadn't written to him much all summer. With good reason too. If she hadn't said 'without prompting' he probably would have immediately bitten her head off. But as is he just gave her a smile.  
  
"I ordered it and a few others when I got to the Dursleys at the beginning of summer. I didn't want to get bored, see? It's actually been a good summer of sorts." He said, leaning back slightly. Her eyes widened slightly, but she smiled. He dismissed the thought that the 'other' books he'd mentioned she probably thought had been two about Quidditch. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't actually gotten any Quidditch books.  
  
"Well, I wanted to express my concern on the book you suggested. It's the sixth in a complicated series on mental magical theory. The author, Dr. Whichborne doesn't recommend it for the inexperienced reader or the, simply out, uninterested readers. It would be a waste of time, and I think you should probably get something a little less-"Harry cut her off before he could get mad. He then took a deep breath and turned to her, watching her pale slightly.  
  
"I've read the other books in the series Hermione. I've been doing a lot of reading this summer." He said, trying to make her understand he was just a little offended. But she just frowned and looked insulted herself.  
  
"And as I was saying! You don't know anything about the mentality of magic! I've only read the first book of that series myself. I decided to put the rest off until we graduate!" she said, crossing her arms and scowling. Ron whistled at Hermione's confession at lacking in the knowledge department. Harry looked at her coolly, catching the play Snitch their red headed friend had given him for his birthday.  
  
"Are you insinuating that it's beyond me Hermione?" he asked calmly.  
  
"Yes." She snapped at him. He stood and headed for the door. "Harry! It's not like you don't agree with me!" Hermione called after him. He opened the door and turned to scowl at her.  
  
"Well Hermione, I'm not the same as the last time you saw me. I'm not throwing a hissy fit and I'm not insulting your intelligence. Hell, I'm not even telling you what I read and you assume you already know everything about me!" he said sternly, and watched her head bow in shame the he walked out.  
  
"Harry!" she shouted through the door. He slid his head back in the door and looked at her, half off the bed to follow him.  
  
"By the way Hermione, I've already read the other five. Don't bother anymore. I'll order the stupid book myself." And he quietly closed the door again. He wasn't followed this time as he went to his new room, suddenly angry. He locked the door and picked up his book from earlier and a piece of parchment and quill. He had homework to do.  
  
Preview of Next Chapter: Accidents Suck  
  
"Stop being a baby boy." There was an odd groaning around the kitchen and Tonks franticly looked around. Moody shot out of his seat, wand pointed at Harry.  
"Stop that right now Potter or you'll be saying goodnight!" his gruff voice above the groaning. Harry narrowed his eyes at no one in particular this time then whirled around and left the kitchen. Everyone sighed in relief- but as soon as the door shut quietly every piece of glass in the room shattered, causing all of the girls to scream. AND! He suddenly felt as if a weight had been thrown upon his shoulders and physically hunched over. What was he supposed to do?! The end of summer just wasn't going to come soon enough- he was going to hurt someone.  
  
A/N! Sorry, but I feel that this is mandatory. Years of toiling and sleepless nights, screw ups and dead ends... and I finally post my FIRST story on the net... Gods, this is sweet! I hope to get some reviews on how people liked it... so far. I know it's REALLY long, including this note it's 5000 something words long! That even shocked me, and I'm the one who's written it this far So please, some criticism would be nice and well received, even flamers winces may just be appreciated. Should I make the chapters shorter? Not so informative? Anything? I may or may not take your criticism into my writing, and yet I may. Thanks anyway See ya! – Mai :D 


	2. Accidents Happen Part1

Chapter Two  
  
Harry ignored it when Molly Weasly called him down for dinner, and ignored it when Ron, Ginny and then Hermione came up successively to ask him down as well. He'd almost completed his 7 foot long essay on the Phillarus Potion, its origin, 100 variations, reason behind its creation, and the uses for it when he heard a voice at his door he'd never thought would be ordering him down to dinner.  
  
"Get down there you snarky little brat or I'll drag you out by your shoe strings." Snape's voice cut through his concentration like a knife and he flew to the door ready to give his excuses and not come down anyway. His head was already tilted up, ready to meet his professors' eyes when he opened the door. He blinked and lowered his gaze slightly and looked at the startled Potions Master, only a few inches taller than him instead of the foot and a half he'd been expecting. He cleared his throat and looked at the essay a moment.  
  
"I won't be coming down sir." He spoke evenly. Snapes' face curled into a sneer.  
  
"Too good to eat with the common people, Potter?" the man was utterly infuriating at times. Harry just grabbed the parchment and held it up.  
  
"No sir, but I'm not allowed to bring school work to the table and I'd like to get done before my concentration is broken." He stated simply. Snape scowled and snatched the parchment away, looking down muttering about cheating and big words. Harry glanced at his nicked hands and then heard the muttering stop. Slowly Harry looked up at the incriminating professor, only to see surprise on his face as he read each line rapidly. He could practically see his own thoughts running through the mans greasy head as he read it farther than he'd obviously intended. Snape paused, started for the stairs, still reading.  
  
"You'll have to brake it anyway Potter. Eat or it's my head, not just yours." Harry sighed and followed the man.  
  
As the pair reached the kitchen Snape was still reading his essay. Molly Weasly frowned but said nothing, suddenly fussing over Harry and practically shoving food into his mouth herself. He'd put a good amount of food on his plate before Molly left him alone to eat her own food. People were curious about what Snape was reading but no one had the guts to ask. Throughout dinner Harry heard the man muttering to himself about something, but then he just reread the essay. Hermione kept trying to start a conversation with Harry, ignored her attempts and instead talked to Arthur Weasly who'd noticed but didn't mention it. Ron, bless his heart, just looked confused then suddenly burst out with fur all over his body.  
  
With a cry of rage Ron lunged for the twins who then threw themselves behind Arthur who then fell forward and was knocked sideways into Remus who threw his arms back when Arthur landed in his lap. His hands slapped Molly in the face, which just happened to be carrying drinks, which then flew through the air. Harry stared at the scene as if in slow motion, the cups flying through the air across the table, now a mess, straight towards the unsuspecting Snape. Those black eyes widened in surprise and Harry felt as if he wanted to die. Then everything sped up and every cup landed in a sopping, sticky mess all over the suddenly enraged professor. Everyone was silent, taking exactly what had just happened and Harry's eyes narrowed in the essay, the ink illegible and soaking through the paper in an irreparable mess. Slowly the boy stood up and the noise that had started was suddenly silenced at a deep, enraged voice.  
  
"RONALD WEASLY!" everyone had thought it had been Snape, but then Harry's shaking form caught their eyes. Ron winced as it was his voice being shouted. The howling of Mrs. Black was silenced as soon as it stared mysteriously and Harry stared down at Ron, his best friend still covered in fur. "That. Was. Mine." He growled out, his grinding teeth hissing each word out darkly. Snape scowled up at the boy, shaking himself off and also stood up.  
  
"Potter, don't be so foolish. It was an essay, nothing more. You'll receive partial credit due to my viewing it beforehand." Snape snapped at him. Harry hissed at him, his face hard as stone.  
  
"I. Don't. Want. It. If I don't get it all for the amount of effort I put into that bloody thing I don't want any credit at all! Now I have to do it all over again!" the Weasly's winced, Remus gasped, and Snape scowled.  
  
"Stop being a baby, boy." There was an odd groaning around the kitchen and Tonks franticly looked around. Moody shot out of his seat, wand pointed at Harry.  
  
"Stop that right now Potter or you'll be saying goodnight!" his gruff voice above the groaning. Harry narrowed his eyes at no one in particular this time then whirled around and left the kitchen. Everyone sighed in relief- but as soon as the door shut quietly every piece of glass in the room shattered, causing all of the girls to scream.  
  
Harry was already building his walls again in his room before anyone even thought about going up to see him. Moody knew, but didn't really care and soon left. No one was eager to go up and see him. The next morning he didn't go down for breakfast, he meditated through it. That afternoon he didn't come down for lunch, again meditating through the summons. During dinner he completed his homework, ignoring the summons but he took in the food that had been waiting outside his door. 'No use starving myself' he thought, finishing his second potions essay which he'd left for last, almost the same as the first word for word. It was midnight before he went downstairs, and he froze in the living room. Upon the wall was Mrs. Blacks' uncovered portrait, the woman frozen in mid scream. He stared at the painting, walking up to it as if hypnotized. Who had finally cast magic on her? Everything they'd done before had never worked?  
  
He left the immortalized frozen woman, going into the kitchens and grabbing a Butterbeer from the magically cooled cabinet, sitting down at the table he hadn't seen since the day before. He sighed and popped open the bottle, taking a long drink before setting it down and staring at it. He didn't want to hear about his use of magic from anyone. It had been accidental, and having been done here it wouldn't have gotten through to the ministry as even a blip on their radar.  
  
Harry listened to the night sounds of the house, the magical hum soothing him more than the slightly alcoholic drink at his lips. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind- a now regular occurrence and hummed a chant he'd only used in his mind. It was one of the ones he'd made for charms, and soon his voice was quietly going through the words and his eyes could 'see' the colorful magical threads slowly coming out of the architecture. It was making a beautiful, if basic picture of the house and everything in it. The vibrant yellows, dark blacks and purples, cool blues, dim reds and slightly pearl like glows seemed to weave together from all the previous magic in the house. Then wisps of colors appeared, giving the house and objects detail with the slightly dirty looking auras of having been touched by magical beings He took another sip, and then opened his eyes. Harry gave a startled gasp, eyes widening in surprise. "What the hell?!" he whispered, effectively ending his chant. But the magical signatures remained in place. Afraid, he stood up quickly and left his drink on the table. He hurried up to his room, staring at everything around him, the colors guiding him more than actually seeing the house. He shut the door and muttered to himself. 'It's nothing, just tired.' He rationalized with himself. It could be what the house did when they all went to sleep... so he lay down and passed out.  
  
It was hours later a bright light woke him up. Harry rolled over with a growl but even more colors passed over his eyes. He opened his eyes slowly and shot up with a startled yell. Solid and pearl colors surrounded him. They were unlike the normal shades the normal eye picks up with shadow and contrast but it was much like a five year olds coloring book. He whirled around and covered his eyes, a blinding light directly across from him. A voice not his own reached his ears and the blinding white light reached for him. He jerked back and instead of passing through the slightly transparent color behind him he hit a hard surface.  
  
"What is it Harry?" a vaguely familiar voice asked him.  
  
"Dumbledore? Is that you?" Harry asked, looking around for the old man. Instead he only saw the alien blobs of color shifting behind the blindingly white one. "What's going on?" he asked, his voice rising louder so it might reach the wizard. He tried to push away from the white figure in front of him, trying to break through the colors behind him. The ones behind the white figure moved forward and he threw his arms up to ward them off, then screamed like never before. Those weren't his hands! He shook them in front of him and tried to push the bright silvery bars away towards the other figures but they only seemed to beat themselves. He could feel his hands, but he couldn't see them, like he was wearing weird goggles out of a sci-fi flick. He gave up on the silver bars and held up his 'hands' in a warding gesture to the other figures which had stopped their advance when he'd screamed.  
  
"Calm down Harry. Tell us, what's happening?" Dumbledore's voice again but his familiar body was no where in sight, somewhere behind the white figure. Harry tried to look behind it but there was no sign of his Headmaster. The hum of magic seemed to have suddenly become deafening and he could barely think straight. He felt his body shaking but immediately stopped it. He couldn't allow these things to see him weak. He took an inaudible deep breath and glared at the offending white figure before him. It was actually quite beautiful if you didn't take into account that it was probably extremely deadly. If nothing he'd learned that in the magical world the prettier, the nastier the surprises.  
  
"Where are you? All I can see are these weird bright blobs?" he said, calming his voice. The things had already seen him spooked so he just pressed his back against the wall. He could see solid colors rushing around behind him, one came particularly close and his fist lashed out to hit it but smacked painfully against the 'wall'. He jerked his hand back with a hiss of pain and avoided the white figure in front of him as it reached for him again. "Tell me!" he growled, trying not to panic again. 'Be calm be calm be calm' was the mantra running through his head. 'No one's hurt, no one's going to die, Albus is around somewhere...' and as long as he was there nothing would ever happen. "What's going on? Where are you for gods' sake?" he finally growled.  
  
"What on earth is he talking about Albus? What's going on?" Molly Weasly sounded worried, her voice from around the multiple colored figures behind the white one. He made an assessment- the shinier the deadlier. The only thing he had to do was ignore the fact that the blobs that covered his own hands were pretty damn glittery.  
  
"Harry, I believe that you are seeing magic." Dumbledore's voice was calm but Harry snapped at him anyway.  
  
"I see magic almost every day! Where am I? Why are we here?" Harry was beginning to panic again and tried to push away the irrational fears beginning to plague him.  
  
"I believe that it's the magical signature that you are seeing Harry. Now remain calm and let me touch you." The white figure moved forward and seemed ready to attack. Harry swung a fist and it connected solidly with a part of it and it recoiled away.  
  
"Alright then, now where are you?" he asked, glancing around the figures again. His stomach was beginning to feel a little sick about now.  
  
"I'm right in front of you Harry. And I must saw that was a pretty good swing." The Headmaster said cautiously.  
  
"Something doesn't smell right here Professor... just tell me how to get out of here." Harry tried, keeping his fists up in a purely defensive stance. He saw the figures being the white one shift and heard a spell being muttered. "Expelliarmus!" he cried unthinkingly and from the silvery bar that he was suspecting may just actually be his hand a violently red light shot forward, nailing the offending green figure and sending it spinning through the air and then landed with a thud, unmoving. Everything was silent and still as he tried to concentrate on seeing everything normally. It took minutes, slow agonizing minutes where he was perched and ready for any sort of action. Slowly natural light began to reflect and shadows appeared, changing the scenery bit by bit. Before it was even complete his hands fell stiffly to his sides and he stared at Dumbledore, currently in the place the white blob had been. Behind him were Snape, Tonks, Molly and Remus, who was just getting off the floor and dusting himself off. Harry felt a sting behind his eyes and his heart quicken as he watched Remus get up off the floor, obviously the one he'd attacked.  
  
"Bloody hell..." he murmured, his voice thick. He turned to Dumbledore and winced, a rather large red shiner forming around his left eye. "Now why did this happen exactly?" he asked, avoiding every ones eyes and staring at the pile of homework.  
  
"Moody came to me with concerns. He spoke of your lack of sleep, startling increase in studies, and then of your surprisingly strong use of accidental magic. Is there anything else you want to tell me about Harry?" the old man asked, staring at him with those infuriatingly cool blue eyes. Always so vague, so serious.  
  
"I'm not going to be over run by Voldie if that's what you're worried about. And that's enough." The shocked looks on all of their faces didn't move him in the least. Dumbledore continued to stare at him and he was suddenly thrown into confusion. Did his brain just tickle? It felt like a small twinge but then it hit him like a physical blow exactly what it was. "Get the HELL out of my head!" he growled, staring into his headmasters eyes. Those previously cool eyes widened behind half moon spectacles. "Is it not enough that I tell you? I've taken up where Snape left off and built a wall- look at me for Merlins' sake! I look like I built the damn thing! No one's getting in here, not you, not even Tommy himself!" he jabbed at his forehead, ironically at his scar. Harry scowled at the aged wizards.  
  
"You'll apologize-"Molly began but surprisingly it was Snape who stopped her.  
  
"If Mr. Potter believes he's above the headmaster himself who are we to disillusion the poor dear?" the Potions Master sneered. Harry shot him a hateful look and was suddenly knocked back as visions of a past not unlike his flew through his walls like a shower of nails. Harry's father, the marauder gang, slytherin dungeons, Volemort, potions, burning scars, night raids, and the Order flashed through his head and he had to hit his forehead to stop the in-flow of images.  
  
A/N: Listen, I'm really sorry about these delays: but at this very moment I have movers yearning to pack up this computer and I'm PISSED beyond belief! This little scraplet is only PART of this chapter, so it isn't complete yet, but I wanted to give you guys at least SOMETHING before I moved and wasn't able to reappear for a little while. This is going to be hell... please don't flame me or throw rotten fruit in my general direction- PMS and moving is a bitch. Now in the REST of this chapter we see Tommy boy, Charlie, and little Harry and Hermione make up or something so it's NOT complete! No Hermione isn't a bitch in this story and sorry if that's the way I played it off earlier. Now wish me luck, I believe I'm going to need it.- Mia shy smilez 


	3. Accidents Happen Part2

A/N: PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME!!!!!!!! duck and covers, shivering A lot has happened to me lately. But this is the 2nd PART of Chapter 2 (ok, so I felt lazy and made it another small section so you'd notice) and chapter 3 will be up ASAP! Once again and for all past and future references: I do not own Harry Potter, but I will own someone else, I swear to you, I will throw someone into this damn thing and make it a little lively

Snape dropped to his knees wheezing, his face pale and shot a look at Harry the boy had seen before- right after he's accidentally ricocheted Snape's Legimancy spell back at him. Harry looked away in guilt. He suddenly felt as if a weight had been heaved onto his shoulders and he physically sagged under the stress. What was he supposed to do?! The end of the summer just wasn't going to come soon enough- he was going to hurt someone. Not on purpose, but it seemed inevitable. Too much was happening all at once.

"Listen, I'm just tired. You interrupted the only sleep I've had in a while... Why _are_ you all here, anyway?" Harry asked. Dumbledore took a deep breath and replied.

"I wanted to see how you were holding up after last year. I'm sorry to have shocked you with all of this Harry, really, I am. And to your earlier question, you are a powerful wizard, and you are going through puberty. It happens to us all, where we start to come into real power. I myself began to see aura's when I hit this stage in life." The old wizard gave him a small smile to try and lighten the mood, completely dismissing what he'd just done to Snape. "So is going on in your mind, my boy? I met quite a wall in there." Harry stared at him in shock a moment then shrugged. It was all probably for the best anyway.

"I've been studying, and the wall is of my own making. I built it with my own hands, and while it was weak to begin with it changed the more I learned. It's almost done now, and I can see people come and throw things at it, crystals or something but they shatter. And since I can still feel a bit of pain from them, I think they're what would have been visions or dreams but I haven't had one since the first few bricks. They're heavy- the bricks I mean- and my work seem to manifest on my physical body. It's really not like anything I've read about." Harry flipped his hands palm up, showing the healing kinks, scrapes, and the hard calluses. The headmaster nodded slowly in understanding.

"This sometimes happens. It is always different for everyone." The old man tried to explain. "You've given yourself a powerful tool Harry, it should hold up .And now that Tom doesn't have a way to get to you-"Harry winced, vividly remembering the end of last year, brought even more apparent by the fact he was currently _in_ Sirius's house. "They will have to do something a bit more creative. Have you learned anything useful in any of the visions you throw away?" Harry shook his head.

"Nothing you haven't already known about probably. Malfoy has gotten off clean, a few Death Eaters are still in prison, Dementors have changed sides, destroyed about 20 families be they muggle, pureblood or muggle born, raped, pillaged, murdered and plundered. Riddle's pissed you're involved and spitting fire because I'm not dead. No big plan yet, throwing ideas away just as fast as they come." The emerald eyed boy kept the Headmasters eye and saw the wheels turning behind those ageless blue eyes.

"Harry dear, why don't you come downstairs and we'll get you something to eat?" Mrs. Weasly finally cut in. Harry shrugged and took a quick mental glace at his wall. He paused with a frown, catching a curious look from Dumbledore. Voldemort was too happy... his feelings trickling down Harry's spine with a foreign touch. Taking a deep breath he plunged into the oncoming vision completely.

The dark room was familiar, a large semi circle of Death Eaters waiting at his feet. "The Order thinks that it is so high and mighty! I've been to the Black estate before Narcissa, and we shall make plans for it now." Harry felt his own mouth spit out the words, feeling immersed in the glorious suspense of being so close to his goal... the suddenly his body froze and he hissed in rage. Harry felt his skin burn, pain rolling over him in waves as he was suddenly forcefully ejected from Riddle's mind.

Harry slowly opened his eyes, panting and pulled his hands away from where they'd been clutching his face. Luckily he's remained standing for once but it was still noticeable what had happened, he was bent over double and everyone in the room looked horrified. His bloodshot eyes firmly stared at the Headmaster and he grit his teeth and shook his head slightly to clear it.

"He knows where we are." The simple statement Harry made caused everyone to freeze in panic. His scar flared in anger and he winced. Voldemort was not happy with his little intrusion.

"What have they decided to do? Who knew where we are?" Dumbledore asked, helping him to stand properly again.

"I got kicked out before they made plans, but it was Narcissa Malfoy, like you couldn't have guessed." He bit out in slight pain then chuckled. The tables on mind control had turned, hadn't they Riddle? Harry would bet everything in his parents vault that Voldemort had severe issues with having his own mind dug into. 'Don't dish out what you can't take.' Was Harry's bitter thought. Snape gave a frustrated sound and left the room in a whirl of robes and all Harry could think was that he should ask the man how he did that...

"We must have an emergency meeting right this moment. Molly, you send the word out now, and Harry, you inform the children to pack their things and prepare to leave immediately. We must act before they do. I expect everyone to arrive and be in the meeting room. Prepare yourself as well Harry, we can't very well leave without you." There was a small twinkle of the long abandoned amusement that Harry hadn't seen since somewhere in his fourth year in the Headmasters eye. Even though everything had somehow gone sour between them and The Boy-Who-Lived had shown how much he did not appreciate how the older wizard had tried to save him from the harshness of reality, it was never the less a reassurance in that moment. And with that they all left the room in a whirl of robes and hurried steps. As he left the room right with them he frowned slightly. 'Inform the children' was a short cry from 'inform the _other_ children' in the English language, but for the Headmaster it may just be that his thoughts on Harry's maturity had grown by leaps and bounds. He decided to think about it for after he'd informed the others to get ready.

Hurrying down the hall he ran into Fred and George who were about to eavesdrop on the meeting below. "Guys, go pack everything you have here, we're vacating the house as soon as possible." And he continued on without pause leaving the shocked twins to nod to themselves and apparate to their room with a crack of displaced air. Harry opened the door to the girls room only to find it empty of living inhabitants so he hurried on to Ron's room. He opened that door and found the two missing Weasly's and Hermione sitting on the beds with serious faces.

"Harry!" Ron started but Harry held up a hand, cutting him off.

"Pack your things, we're leaving the house the instant Dumbledore says so. He was about to leave and pack his own things when Hermione got a word in.

"Headmaster Dumbledore is at Hogwarts Harry. It is perfectly safe here, we have weeks until school yet. Come, sit with us and we'll talk about how oddly you've been acting!" The petite brunette's words cut into his patience in a way he really didn't like. And did she really have to say his name like she was talking to a three year old? As far as he knew she was the only one who could spit it out with such a high and mighty air, as if she were better than he. He loved her, but she'd dragged both Ron and himself along like they were idiots since third year when she'd started taking more classes.

"They've called an emergency meeting and we're leaving the house the second they get out of that room. Don't leave anything here, we're not coming back for it for a long while if it's my guess." He scowled at her. Her eyes flashed in annoyance and he could feel her ire from across the room. It made the tiny hairs on the end of his neck bristle and he say Ron cringe beside her.

"Harry James Potter! If you're going to be so bloody rude to me than at least give me an explanation on why you know and no one else has heard of it?!" she crossed her arms over her chest- Harry suddenly caught himself following the movement and finding it quite interesting how it brought attention to certain parts of her anatomy... he snarled at himself mentally.

"I had a vision. Voldemort knows where we are and how to get here. So I suggest you get packing." He said coolly. He was being rather rude, but he was extremely frustrated that suddenly he'd gotten more say on what happened, if only a smidge and his best friend couldn't even believe him without knowing every freaking detail. Hermione was perfect, but she probably should have been put in Ravenclaw... the only thing that put her outside the bookish house's line of reach was the fact that she followed Ron and himself like a trooper and _usually_ without question, just rolling her eyes when they were particularly stupid.

Harry watched everyone's faces tighten in horror and he grunted quietly. Hermione's eyes flashed and he could practically see everything that had happened since the Big Bang suddenly begin to start adding up in her head in one long unbroken thought. He wouldn't put it past her to somehow brilliantly connect Hagrid's horrible cooking somehow had caused Harry to become mentally distraught and causing him to have visions and suddenly the entire wizarding world was in mortal peril... not that it wasn't before but it was just a thought. He practically expected her to stand up and shout "Ginkies!" and Ron to have a pair or bellbottoms and Ginny to try a career in acting. He snorted at his own crazy thoughts, chalking it up to lack of sleep finally catching up with him. Finally he turned and left the room, unable to concentrate on the real world.

As Harry was walking to his room, he passed by a familiar room. He paused at the door instead of just continuing past. Sirius... this had been his godfather's room. He slowly opened the door, which creaked on its old un oiled hinges and stood, frozen in the doorway. Buckbeak had obviously not been in this room, but his godfather had. It smelled of him still, and held a rugged quality that was easy to call home. Dusty, but neat, on the bed were dark red-almost blood colored, defiantly not Gryffindor red- sheets and comforters. There were moving photos everywhere, the marauder gang, and even a few of him as only a baby. Valuable and useful little trinkets were scattered everywhere around the room and he felt sad that it would all be taken away by those damn Death Eaters- just like everything was taken from him. He sighed and turned to leave when an idea struck him.

Why on earth did he have to leave it all? Who said he couldn't hold his godfathers belongings in his possession? Harry whirled back around and emptied one of the pillowcases on the bed. Quickly he placed everything of any value into it, photos, books, papers, twinkling gadgets, anything he could get his hands on. He felt like he himself was pillaging, but he brushed it off for the greater good. Placing the full pillowcase on the bed he opened the closet, but all he could see were clothing and a small box full of papers, but he decided to take them as well, a few had the ministry seal as well as Gringotts. Checking under the bed he revealed a few more papers and books and added them to the slightly large pile. He paused in thought, glancing around the room. It had certainly seemed to have more stuff in it that it actually had, but there was something he hadn't gotten... He lifted up the mattress and froze, his hand extended. Under his gaze was a familiar looking silvery mirror, innocently reflecting light as if its brother hadn't given him so much hope last year... He grit his teeth and reached around it, grabbing a vicious looking dagger and slipped it into his pocket. There were a few letters he snatched and an old ratty book and he let the mattress fall again. Harry's heart pounded in his chest and his heart ached... that damn mirror was never of any use and he would not have it on his person. He gathered everything in a pile and stared at it a moment before gathering the four corners or the sheets below the comforters and used it like a sack with everything in the middle. He barely grunted under the heavy load and left the room without a backward glance.

Harry neatly loaded his own belongings and his newly acquired ones into his trunk, panting from the speed he'd put into the task. His scar had throbbed painfully the entire time, leaving him a nasty headache and reminded him of the danger he'd taken in wasting time in Sirius's room. But he managed and dragged his trunk down to the bottom of the stairs. He'd changed into a pair or Sirius's black dragon leather boots, a relatively new pair of blue jeans and a clean white shirt. His growth spurt had made him the perfect size much to his delight and everything seemed to fit well, only the need for a belt which was readily available. He stared at his completely full trunk and tried to gather his thoughts. There had been an obscene amount of dark magic in those books, but he'd packed them anyway. He'd read all of his own, and maybe they'd inform him of some spells he'd be up against? There was a sound behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see a pale Molly Weasly.

"Harry, are you ready dear?" she asked quietly, not over her habit of being quiet in the living room since Mrs. Black had been petrified. His mind shouted negative comments, there were still so many things he knew would help Riddle in this house... he'd seen almost all of them when he'd cleaned it last summer. Many things had been thrown away, but there was still so much...

"Yes Mrs. Weasly." Was all he could say. There was nothing more he could do... Molly charmed his trunk and he followed her outside, where everyone was quietly hurrying about around an obnoxious orange van, loading trunks on top and people were starting to get inside. Remus lay a hand on his shoulder and steered him into the van himself. Miraculously everyone fit into the van- most of the Order members had apparated to some unknown location after the packing was complete. So Harry was in the very back of the van between the full grown Remus and the extremely long limbed Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, and Hermione were in the seat ahead and in front Mrs. Weasly was driving and Moody was in the passenger side.

Molly drove through the early morning traffic with ease, the van obviously some sort of magical car to fit so many and weave through the tight spaces at the speed it did. Harry shyly glanced at Remus, remembering just an hour or so earlier in his room. "Professor, I'm really sorry about-"

"How many times do I have to ask you to call me Remus, Harry? At least call me Moony?" the older man smiled at him forgivingly and Harry sighed, giving him a relieved smile. Ron gave them a curious look, but kept quiet.

"Where are we going Professor?" Ginny had turned around in her seat, curious. The ex DADA professor shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't believe that it would be incredibly wise to discuss it Ms. Weasly. But you will be safe until the Order has a better location to provide. Might I guess that you have already been informed that Grimmauld Place has been compromised?"

"Harry did say that Professor, but what exactly is going on?" Hermione had also turned around to join the conversation. 'Ah.' Thought Harry in an almost detached way, 'Does our dear Hermione still believe that they'll tell you everything? Answer all your questions? No one was going to tell you anything just because you asked and held them in high regard. The fact that you hold them in such high esteem actually made it easier for them to feed you excuses and half answers.' Harry mentally shook his head, thinking of the absurdity of it all. She might as well have said nothing at all. He looked to Ron to have an agreeing mind on the matter, but he blinked as Ron seemed to wait just as eagerly for Remus's reply. It suddenly pained him, that small insignificant detail. They'd always just rolled their eyes at Hermione's questions and knew better than to expect answers about the Order. He believed that since he'd stopped believing what they always said that they'd have naturally followed his lead. Instead he looked forward, jaw set. Remus of course avoided the truth and gave partial answers, just as he'd thought and like he hadn't counted on, his friends ate up every word. When had he grown up and surpassed his best friends? They'd done _everything_ together...

Harry didn't build his wall I the car because of Moody's comments on how it was like sitting in a pool of magic, but he did meditate, clearing his mind. He'd always been more comfortable around older people, but it was like he was suddenly too old for people his own age and too young for the actual adults. He'd have to choose soon, and if he was going to be in school he would probably end up having to try to act his age again. But how was he supposed to act exactly? He didn't feel like chasing after Cho again, throwing fists with Malfoy, chasing after shadows after midnight, getting detentions with Snape or trying to outmaneuver Filch. Everything had changed and he didn't think he had the energy to go back... at least not this... minute. With a soft sigh his mind drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Thank you SOOOOOOOOO much! Everyone, you don't know how much your pestering me has gotten me back to this story! I'm sorry it's taken so long, but as I've told others it's been a really hard summer for me. Moving, traveling, going to a wedding and family stupidity, which happens to everyone...Sigh But this isn't the end damnit! I swear! Chapter three's being typed at the speed of light as we speak and four is fresh in my mind! Three's gonna be up immediately, so stay tuned!


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